Personalised Care Team

Personalised Care benefits people by giving them the same choice and control over their mental and physical health that they have come to expect in every other aspect of their life. A one-size-fits-all health and care system simply cannot meet the increasing complexity of people’s needs and expectations. Personalised care is based on ‘what matters’ to people and their individual strengths and needs.

The Personalised Care Team at our Trust was formed within the Trust in 2018 with the implementation of Macmillan Cancer Support Workers.

For further information regarding Personalised care visit NHS England » Personalised care.

About Our Service

The team currently consists of 4 Macmillan Cancer Support workers who are responsible for offering Holistic Needs Assessments (HNA) to cancer patients at initial diagnosis and other relevant points in their pathway.

The HNA is designed to understand a patients concerns which have arisen as a result of their cancer diagnosis/treatment.

The Support Workers can offer HNA’s face to face, over the telephone, through written correspondence, or Macmillan easy read versions.

The service uses internal and external resources to translate HNA’s, support plans and assist with the verbal care support planning phase, to ensure everyone has the opportunity to engage.

Support Workers develop Care Support Plans with each patient. These plans can help you to manage your concerns and reduce anxieties as you proceed through your cancer pathway. Care Support Plans are issued to the patient directly and can be sent to the patients GP and documented on the relevant hospital systems.

What Can Support Workers Do?

Support workers are able to do the following:

  • Signpost patients
  • Complete referrals
  • Give information
  • Promote the Cancer Wellbeing Service
  • Refer to internal and external support services
  • Offer empathic support to the patients.

Support Workers remain a consistent point of support for the patient alongside their clinical teams.

Benefits of Personalised Care in Cancer Services

There are a number of real, tangible benefits of receiving Personalised Care in Cancer Services, including:

  • Increased support for patients, reduced anxiety and better patient experience
  • Increased patient autonomy and shared decision making in their care
  • Time spent with a Support Worker releases more Cancer Nurse Specialist time to support clinical needs.